Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  The world may be insane, but at least the sun is shining, and the birds are chirping, so that's a start.  The birds are actually a big deal here.  One of the many reasons we were sad to lose the Clutter Tree last fall is that BDH and Little Buddha used to love watching the birds hanging out on its branches all summer.  The guys did that for hours at a time, and they were crushed to lose one of their favorite hobbies.  However at least they can still listen to all of the singing.  Maybe that's why the birds have been so active this week - they're all discussing the loss of the tree.  Anyway, the weekend is here, and now thanks to our terrific crew, so is the coffee.  Grab yourself a nice medium DD, and let's clear out some Saturday Clutter.

Donald Trump continues his war on oversight, this time firing State Department Inspector General Steve Linick, who was investigating reports that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife inappropriately used a department aide for personal reasons.  Before the MAGA crowd turns Linick into some "Deep State" boogeyman, they should all be reminded that he's the one who first raised Hillary Clinton's email server issue.  There is no end to the corruption in this administration, and they're brazenly removing anyone who would hold them accountable for it in any fashion. 

Steve Linick was fired for doing his job.  (pic via kbps.com)

Trump fired the IG's for the intelligence community, the Defense Department, and the one for the Department of Health and Human Services, because no one will hold him accountable for anything if he can help it.  While Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized the behavior, it doesn't seem like she intends to do anything about it.   What we would give for a progressive leading the House.  The country must put an end to this dumpster fire in November.

Trump is talking about a "warp-speed" effort to create a coronavirus vaccine by the end of 2020, when he knows full well it's going to more like 18 months for this to happen.  He will spew lie after lie about it to help his re-election chances, and then should (God help us) he be given a second term, he'll either deny making the claim, or say the country doesn't need it.  Hell, he's already starting to do the latter, saying yesterday:

“And I just want to make something clear. It’s very important. Vaccine or no vaccine, we’re back and we’re starting the process and, in many cases, they don’t have vaccines and a virus or a flu comes and you fight through it.”

We've all been played for idiots for years now, and as the death toll for the coronavirus starts creeping towards 100,000, it's past time to say enough and send this orange child packing.

Donald Trump wants to make sure we're not paying attention to the crimes he's committing, so he's got no problem trying to distract everyone by holding an embarrassing event to celebrate his "Space Force" which includes discussion of, in his words, mind you, "a super-duper missile."  That's the language of a five-year-old child, but you can say things like that with a straight face when you're a dim-witted grifter with no shame or self-respect.

A group of cybercriminals apparently hacked a major entertainment law firm, and they claim they now have dirt on Donald Trump that they'll release unless they're paid $42 million.  No one should pay these guys a dime.  They'll be doing the country a public service if they really have something on Trump.

Senator Richard Burr was forced to step down as chairman of the Intelligence Committee while he's under investigation for stock trades he made in February that allegedly based on classified coronavirus intelligence briefings.  That's a first step, but Senator Burr should be in jail for seeking personal profit instead of fulfilling his duties and protecting American lives and interests.

As Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker starts releasing the details of his plan to begin reopening the state, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh made it clear that the city's Public Health Emergency declaration won't be over anytime soon.  Large crowd gatherings are currently banned in Boston until Labor Day, and it's time to factor in the possibility that the prohibition could be extended through the rest of the year.  (In fact, the neighboring city of Somerville has done just that.) 

Mayor Walsh did say he'd be open to Fenway Park and TD Garden opening, but he was adamant that no fans would be allowed.  It's frustrating and disappointing, but we appreciate Mayor Walsh for listening to actual public health experts instead of con men.  That's real leadership.

Looks like we'll be expecting another email from the Boston Red Sox saying we're getting additional credits for tickets we can't use this summer.

Meanwhile, New Hampshire is opening slowly.  While some unnamed members of our staff could probably use a haircut soon, it will still be a while before that feels like a comfortable decision.

Facebook is reportedly buying Giphy for $400 million.  Our immediate response is to assume this is a bad thing that will result in a further loss of user privacy, because that's usually how these things turn out when Facebook is involved.  We wonder if there are any kind of legal issues involved, since some of Facebook's competitors also use the GIF-making service.  Oh there it is: Some members of Congress have antitrust concerns about the deal.

Speaking of Facebook, have any of you tried their new "Messenger Rooms" feature?  That's the social media giant's attempt to kill Zoom.  We've been playing around with it for the last few days.  It's not quite as user-friendly as we would have expected, but we had a chat with someone in a room last night, and it was fine.  We assume Facebook mined the conversation for every last bit of data they could extract, but other than that, it was fine.

BDH and Little Buddha want to step away from the headlines so they can show you a clip of a special pooch named "Roo."  He seems awesome:

He's so cute!

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  We're feeling a bit of a Chris Cornell vibe right now, so let's have him and the rest of Audioslave close things out with, "I Am the Highway," for today's, "Song of the Day."

What a voice.

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  Not sure what our plan will be for the rest of the day, but the guys want to make sure you know you're welcome to come back later anyway.  They might just need you to bring some snacks, if you don't mind.  Otherwise, be good, stay safe, and we'll catch up with you again soon.  For now, that's today's Clearing out the Clutter, and we are outta here.